You are here

Quick Reference for Tracking your Animals

ORDERING, IMPORTING, OR TRANSFERRING: TRACKING ANIMAL USE WHEN ORDERING, IMPORTING FROM A RESEARCHER AT ANOTHER INSTITUTION, OR TRANSFERRING ANIMALS FROM ANOTHER PROTOCOL

Email the order or transfer request to the IACUC office iacucoffice@colorado.edu with the following information prior to placing the order, requesting shipment from another researcher, or transferring animals:

Order number (this can be sequential numbers, alphabet, or a code, not duplicated)

Number of animals

Species

Vendor or other source

Protocol number

It may take up to 48 hours during normal working days to hear from the IACUC, so make allowance for any purchasing deadlines. Once your lab has set up a system of animal tracking, please send your updated numbers to the IACUC, if you haven’t already, so that we can make sure we are all tracking animals from the same baseline number. Please contact the IACUC office if you have specific questions about how to track your animals.

The source of the animals (e.g. vendor or another researcher) must be on the approved protocol on which you are ordering the animals.

Email the number of animals ordered to the facility manager to ensure there is enough space. If it is an unusually large order, notice to facility managers before the order is placed is advised.

Notify the IACUC by email iacucoffice@colorado.edu of if the animals received are over or under the number of animals ordered. Include

The number of animals over or under the original order.

The protocol number

Once animals are received ensure that any extra animals received are also counted against a protocol (e.g. 10 animals were ordered, but 12 live animals arrive. All extra animals received need to be subtracted from either the protocol under which the animal order was placed or transferred to another protocol having sufficient numbers of animals remaining to cover them, so that all received animals are fully accounted for).

If you need more animals than the approved number on your protocol, you MUST submit an addendum for adding more animals and obtain IACUC approval before going over the approved number.

BREEDING: TRACKING ANIMAL USE WHEN BREEDING THE ANIMALS AT UCB

Email the number of animals that are weaned or used each month to the IACUCso that the IACUC office can ensure there are enough animals approved on the protocol. Set a reminder for once a month to report to the IACUC your number of animals weaned (used) as well as used for experiments. Email the updates to iacucoffice@colorado.edu

Once your lab has set up a system of animal tracking, send your updated numbers to the IACUC at the end of every month. Please contact the IACUC office if you have specific questions about how to track your animals.

FIELD RESEARCH: TRACKING ANIMAL USE DURING FIELD RESEARCH

The field researchers (PI or designee) need to keep the IACUC informed of the number of animals captured. In order to inform the IACUC Office more than just once a year (with the annual review form), update us at the end of the field season via email. There is no form necessary to do this, just include the following in the email:

Protocol number

Number of animals used during the season

Total number of animals used so far on the protocol

Any animals captured in the field are housed in the facilities as outlined in your approved protocol.

As always, keep track of the remaining number of animals on your protocol during the field season and submit an addendum to the IACUC for review and approval before going over the approved number of animals. Send the addendum to iacucoffice@colorado.edu